Finger-spinners have historically struggled in Australia, but Nathan Lyon stands out from that league as he has got a deeper understanding of those conditions, feels fellow off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
The 'turbanator' spoke about the Australian offie with him only 10 scalps away from joining him in the 400 Test wickets club, which Lyon will have the chance to do against one of his favourite oppositions India in the coming four-match series.
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"I love watching him, the way he has bowled and the way he has operated," Harbhajan told IANS. "Australia is a tough place to bowl for a finger-spinner. But it is so beautiful to see him bowl. The way he flights the ball, spins the ball. He doesn't have a doosra, doesn't have any fancy or any other different ball. He just sticks to that basic off-spin, the spin and bounce and he still gets the job done more often than anyone for them."
191 of Lyon's 390 wickets have come in home conditions at a respectable average of 31.93, including 8 five-wicket hauls. He's been integral to the attack, complimenting the widely acknowledged pace trio around him very well.
"He understands those conditions better than all the other bowlers who are playing currently," said Harbhajan. "He was born there, he has played almost every possible Test match in Australia. He has kind of adjusted to those conditions, and knows how he can get success there. There is always a way to find out how to bowl in those conditions. The sooner you find out, the quicker your performance will go up."
Lyon imparts a lot of over-spin on the ball, unlike most conventional off-spinners that tour Australia, which helps him extract extra bounce from those decks and brings the edge as well as close-in fielders into play. His consistency at this is also down to the work put in on fitness over the years.
"The surface in Australia doesn't give you side-spin," Harbhajan said. "The sharp spin you get from ball one in India, you won't get there. That you will not get there because the surface is so hard. Lyon doesn't use side-spin but relies more on bounce and on length. Because there is extra bounce, he dismisses batsmen with bounce."
"That is something very important to understand -- that extra bounce, how to utilise that, how to use the crease, especially that length, (I mean) what should be the length in Australia. He understands that better than others."
The ideal way to bowl down under in Test cricket for a spinner is to regularly hit the upper half of the bat, reckons Harbhajan, who has been on multiple tours to the country.
"He (Lyon) bowls a length which, in India, can play off the back-foot. But there you have to play that length on front(foot) because the bounce is such that if you stand back then the ball comes (at you) very high," explained 'Bhajji'.
"It'd seem the ball is (coming) fine, but it jumps more off the pitch, higher than (in) India. And when the ball hits the bat's sticker then it is difficult to control. As a spinner that is all you want to do, you want to hit that sticker of the bat."
"If your ball is hitting the sticker then you are always in the game. Whether you are getting spin on the ball or not, that is a different thing. But if your ball is hitting the sticker, you are always in the game."
